What is imprisonment for public protection?

Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences were brought by a Labour government through the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005.

It was used to keep dangerous violent and sexual offenders, who had not been handed a life sentence, in custody until they were no longer a risk to society.

The sentence has been criticised by some MPs who say it’s difficult for prisoners to show they are no longer a risk because there is limited access to rehabilitative and resettlement programmes.

It’s also thought to be among the reasons why prison overcrowding has become such a problem, as many prisoners who had a relatively short jail term ended up in prison for a long time.

The IPP meant that once they had served out their jail term, inmates would have to prove to the Parole Board that they could be released.

In response to the criticism, the Labour government changed the law in 2008 so that an IPP sentence could only be imposed if the offender had previously been convicted of an
offence listed in Schedule 15A of the 2003 Act before committing the latest offence, or the term the prisoner would have served had he received a determinate sentence) would have been at least two years.

How many imprisonment for public protection prisoners are there in the UK?

There are more than 3,000 people in England and Wales who are still serving IPPs.

Despite them being abolished in 2012 by a coalition government, existing prisoners are still chained to the IPP.

The Howard League for Penal Reform said in 2013 that prisoners’ mental health was being affected by the IPPs.

In November 2016, Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, admitted the sentence “flawed”.

He said “decisive action” was needed for “fairness and justice” towards prisoners, to help cut costs and to ease pressures of prison overcrowding.

There were 576 IPP releases in 2016, which was the highest number of annual releases since the sentence was brought in in 2005.

Who is James Ward?

James Ward, 32, was jailed for ten months after being convicted of actual bodily harm following a fight with his father Bill.

But instead of being released less than a year later, Ward has spent 11 years in jail after being handed an IPP because he set fire to his prison bed.

On September 14, the Parole Board announced the 32-year-old, who suffers from mental health problems, is to be released.

He struggled with life in prison and regularly self-harmed during his indefinite sentence.

He has also barricaded himself into his cell and staged dirty protests.

His sister April told the BBC :”We are over the moon, my dad can’t stop grinning.
“My dad hasn’t grinned for years. I can’t stop crying or smiling.
“James is not a risk to the public, he’s only ever been a risk to himself, and with the right support we can get him there.”